indianexpress.com :: Village quiet after it ganged up to hack Dalit mother, 3 children

Village quiet after it ganged up to hack Dalit mother, 3 children

Vivek Deshpande

Posted online: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 at 0000 hrs IST

KHAIRLANJI (BHANDARA), NOVEMBER 7
A day after mobs ran riot in Nagpur, protesting the killing of four of a Dalit family, an eerie silence has descended on Khairlanji, the village in Bhandara district where the family was hacked to death. No one here’s willing to talk, not anymore: “We haven’t seen anything. So what can we say?” Policemen, who weren’t there when they were needed, simply wave you on.

In eastern Vidarbha’s paddy belt, Khairlanji has never been the same ever since the Bhotmanges, one of the three Mahar families in the village who became Buddhists, objected to people cutting across their field to get to their own. The Bhotmanges, who had land in Khairlanji, had moved in from neighbouring Ambagadh. This simple assertion of their right annoyed others in the village. Cutting across castes, they all ganged up against the Bhotmanges.

Surekha Bhotmange, a mother of three, sought the help of Siddharth Gajbhiye, a cousin from neighbouring Dhusala, in the matter and this annoyed the villagers even more because Gajbhiye had already had a fight with one of them over a money transaction. Some villagers chased and beat up Gajbhiye. The Bhotmanges, especially Surekha, stood up for Gajbhiye and testified against the villagers, leading to their arrest.

On September 29, Surekha, her sons Sudhir and Roshan and daughter Priyanka were hacked to death and their bodies thrown in a nullah. Priyanka and Roshan were stripped before they were killed. The attackers showed no mercy to even Sudhir who was visually impaired.

Bhaiyyalal, Surekha’s husband, was the only one to survive. “I was in the field when I heard people shout. When I rushed to my hut, I saw some 50-60 people attacking my family.”

Realising he couldn’t take on the mob, Bhaiyyalal fled, seeking shelter with relatives in nearby Warthi. “The local police should have gauged the seriousness of the development that led to the incident and acted to prevent it. They are at fault,” says a police officer.

Bhaiyyalal says a Gond tribal had once warned him that they would be “finished”.

“I never thought they would carry out the threat’’. Dilip Uke, Dalit activist and member of the Panchayat Samiti at the tehsil headquarters in Mohadi, maintains: “They didn’t like the fact that the Bhotmanges were being assertive about their rights. Just see how brutally were they killed.”

Bhaiyyalal says he now realises it was a mistake moving to Khairlanji. “We thought we could mingle with the upper castes in the village, but they always made us feel that we were not their equal. If we had a function, they wouldn’t eat at our place,” he says.

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Village quiet after it ganged up to hack Dalit mother, 3 children Vivek Deshpande Posted online: Wednesday, November 08, 2006 at 0000 hrs IST KHAIRLANJI (BHANDARA), NOVEMBER 7 A day after mobs ran riot in Nagpur, protesting the killing of four of a Dalit family, an eerie silence has descended on Khairlanji, the village in Bhandara district where the family was hacked to death. No one here’s willing to talk, not anymore: “We haven’t seen anything. So what can we say?” Policemen, who weren’t there when they were needed, simply wave you on. In eastern Vidarbha’s paddy belt, Khairlanji has never been the same ever since the Bhotmanges, one of the three Mahar families in the village who became Buddhists, objected to people cutting across their field to get to their own. The Bhotmanges, who had land in Khairlanji, had moved in from neighbouring Ambagadh. This simple assertion of their right annoyed others in the village. Cutting across castes, they all ganged up against the Bhotmanges. Surekha Bhotmange, a mother of three, sought the help of Siddharth Gajbhiye, a cousin from neighbouring Dhusala, in the matter and this annoyed the villagers even more because Gajbhiye had already had a fight with one of them over a money transaction. Some villagers chased and beat up Gajbhiye. The Bhotmanges, especially Surekha, stood up for Gajbhiye and testified against the villagers, leading to their arrest. On September 29, Surekha, her sons Sudhir and Roshan and daughter Priyanka were hacked to death and their bodies thrown in a nullah. Priyanka and Roshan were stripped before they were killed. The attackers showed no mercy to even Sudhir who was visually impaired. Bhaiyyalal, Surekha’s husband, was the only one to survive. “I was in the field when I heard people shout. When I rushed to my hut, I saw some 50-60 people attacking my family.” Realising he couldn’t take on the mob, Bhaiyyalal fled, seeking shelter with relatives in nearby Warthi. “The local police should have gauged the seriousness of the development that led to the incident and acted to prevent it. They are at fault,” says a police officer. Bhaiyyalal says a Gond tribal had once warned him that they would be “finished”. “I never thought they would carry out the threat’’. Dilip Uke, Dalit activist and member of the Panchayat Samiti at the tehsil headquarters in Mohadi, maintains: “They didn’t like the fact that the Bhotmanges were being assertive about their rights. Just see how brutally were they killed.” Bhaiyyalal says he now realises it was a mistake moving to Khairlanji. “We thought we could mingle with the upper castes in the village, but they always made us feel that we were not their equal. If we had a function, they wouldn’t eat at our place,” he says.